Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Friday the 13th Phillies Nightmare

When one of your ace pitchers gives up 3 runs in the first inning, you know it is going to be a bad day. Add to that having the Mets in town, the 3rd anniversary of Harry Kalas’ death and the fact that it is Friday the 13th and things look pretty grimm.

Not that Cliff Lee pitched too badly. He made a few mistakes and the Mets lowered the ax. Making matters worse, the Phillies knuckleballing nemesis R.A. Dickey was pitching for the Mets. Although, the Phillies did collect 11 hits; they just failed to score.

The one happy moment in the game came when rookie Freddy Galvis smashed his first major league home run. Grinning in the dugout afterwards as the team gave him the silent treatment, Freddy did not have to wait too long for some congratulations. Jim Thome strained to keep a straight face and was eventually the first to give Galvis a bear hug.

But after that, the nightmare continued for the Phillies. On his 29th birthday, Hunter Pence received the gift of going 0-for-4. And although Jimmy Rollins had 3 hits, he made a huge defensive blunder in the 9th inning, bobbling an easy double-play ball. Rollins did not recover and both runners were safe. That mistake led to another run for the Mets.

The Mets had their share of goofs as well. Daniel Murphy collected a fielding error and catcher Josh Thole did something I have never seen before. In the 2nd inning after hitting a single, Thole ran to 2nd on a Dickey sacrifice bunt. Then unexpectedly, Thole, who was safe at 2nd, began trotting back to 1st base as if the bunt never happened!

Before Thole realized his stupidity, the Phillies tagged him out on his way back to 1st. This will be a classic for the MLB blooper reel. Maybe Thole was trying to make the record books with an unprecedented “reverse steal?” Whatever the reason, he does win the award for dumbest baseball play ever.

But even that bit of entertainment cannot soften the blow of a sad 5-2 loss to the lowly Mets. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Better than that, tomorrow is NOT Friday the 13th.

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